IT opens doors for jobless

IT opens doors for jobless

Keywords: Computer training, Skills, Labour market, Germany

Special efforts to give the unemployed in Germany access to learning computer skills have had startling results. In the past year, more than 70 per cent of those who completed an IT course were able to land a job. In the still-expanding field of software development and network techniques, the employment offices have been reporting people getting job offers even before they had completed the course.

The Federal Employment Office (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, or BA) spent DM 13bn last year on vocational training, of which DM 1.9bn went on teaching skills that can lead to IT jobs. The BA switched emphasis to this area to meet employers' growing demand. The aim is to train 30,000 new technicians a year.

In 2000, the number of participants learning IT averaged 46,000. Classes on offer ranged from formal two-year IT courses to special courses in software development aimed at jobless engineers. The number of people who pass will contribute significantly to reducing the shortages of skilled staff in 2001,said the BA.

It is tailoring its programmes with increasing care. Aware that recruitment in the private sector concentrates heavily on under-45s and even more particularly on the young, it is now promoting opportunities for those with just as good qualifications but who can also contribute to their work the advantages that maturity brings.